The New Apprentice
by FallenStar22
Summary: A new Stravagante comes to Giglia to work as an apprentice to Giuditta Miele.
1. The Boy in the Marble

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

The Boy in the Marble

The morning sunlight streamed into Giuditta Miele's studio, exposing the forms draped over in sheets. Jess jumped up, startled by the unusual bright weather. The plain and simple interior kept her from freaking out too much as she got up and walked through the figures. She was drawn to the only statue at the end of the room that was not covered in a sheet. The carving was of a beautiful girl, so graceful and exquisite that she could only exist in a dream like this. Her lines were definite but the person next to her was not so. As she reached out and put her hand against the cold marble, she could feel a heartbeat and the image of a slim young man with curly black hair, tied back in a ribbon at his neck. His eyes sparkled with joy at being with his sweetheart, her image mirrored in his.

Jess was so absorbed in the marble that she only noticed Giuditta's strong footsteps until she was only a few feet away. It was her plain rustic tunic, and none of those modern essentials, like make-up, or hairstraightners, that made Guiditta seem so down to earth, and obviously not from England. Yet her deep compassionate eyes showed more understanding than Jess did, which made her feel comfortable in this women's company. She also didn't seem to mind Jess touching her marble, almost grateful for it. If Jess hadn't become her apprentice it would have been hard to explain the sudden appearance of yet another bizarre looking model.

"Can you feel him?" Guidutta questionned.

"How- How did you know?" replied Jess, surprised.

Giuditta smiled, amused. "You can see him in your eyes. I am glad you could find him. It has taken me days of searching and I still cannot picture him in my mind." She came and put her hand on the marble next to Jess's. "It takes some talent to do that. You must be pretty special. I'm glad my fairy found the right person."

Jess's hand instantly went to her pocket, fingers curling round the figurine through the fabric. "She's your fairy?" asked Jess downheartened. Everytime she looked at it it reminded her of sweet uncomprimising beauty mixed in with peace and innocence. She was perfect; her curly tendrils looked like Jess's own and her wings could fly her away from any danger or trouble.

Giuditta softened at the apparent love the girl had for the figurine. "She's yours as long as you want to continue coming here. Let me explain to you about stravagating." Guiditta led her into the small kitchen and explained the process of stravagation over a mug of sweet tea. Jess opened to the idea quite quickly, adapting to the attitude and position she would take in this new world. Talia was the beautiful equivalent of Italy and Giglia the City of Flowers where perfumes and other dangerous cordials were brewed. Most importantly, her home was here in the sculptor's workshop; doing something she loved.


	2. Hiding

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

Hiding

Giuditta was conscience of the fact that as dawn had already broken the arrival of the models and other workers in the workshop would soon be imminent. She had to get Jess ready before they came otherwise they would get suspicious. "We'll need a Talian name for you while you are here," Giuditta stated. She pondered for a few minutes, no names immediately coming to her as it was very uncommon for Talian names to begin with J. "What do you think about Alessa?"

"It's perfect," Jess replied. She smiled at the sculptor, grateful to her for picking out such a nice name. "I'm guessing my clothes won't be acceptable as well, right?"

"No they won't be, I'll get you one of my dresses to wear and then I'll get one of my apprentices to show you around Talia."

Jess stared at herself in the mirror amazed at what she saw. She was wearing one of Giuditta's dresses, a pretty blue one that matched her light blue eyes, with a dark blue cord for a belt. At Giuditta's insistence, she had removed all her make-up and wet her hair to get rid of that artificially straight look. But the person looking back at her wasn't the emotionally insecure, unpopular girl that everyone teased for not being pretty enough. At school, she copied everyone else, outlining her eyes with thick mascara, straightening her hair and wearing short skirts hoping she would get accepted. It was only at the weekends when she went to pottery that she felt like she didn't have to care and could express her individuality in the clay work.

Her wet her was starting to dry in its half curly half wavy shape, but Jess didn't mind because for the first time she could remember she looked natural and confident. Her skin was glowing, perhaps from the sun or perhaps because she felt like she could be who she wanted to be while she was here. She looked like a true Talian.

"Better?" asked Giuditta, seeing the smile on Jess's face. It was the first time she looked truly happy since arriving here. They sat back at the table for breakfast (a sweet porridge) while discussing how Jess had to act in order to be Talian. They had agreed on saying she was from Belleza so that when the Duchessa came later for another visit she could explain more about the City of Masks in detail to Jess. They could also pretend that she had arrived with the Ducal couple.

Giuditta was slightly uncomfortable about informing the Duchessa just in case Rodolfo found out. He may not favour her calling on a Stravagante, as there was no real danger in Talia at this moment, but in this circumstance she willing to take that risk. With the di Chimici spies everywhere it would not do for an unusual looking shadowless girl to appear out of nowhere.

Jess creeped out into the yard to check if Giuditta had been telling the truth. Even though Giuditta had prewarned her, the shock of not having a shadow brought sadness to Jess. It was as if this perfect world was telling her she wasn't welcome here either.


	3. The Duchessa

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

The Duchessa

When the Duchessa arrived in the late morning Jess was marvelled by how someone so young could rule an entire city. She looked as delicate as glass, as if her fragile body and mask like face could shatter as easily as the mask in the Merlino glass museum did. Whilst pretending to study Luciano in a small private meeting room, they were in fact informing Jess of Belleza, the city she supposedly came from. Now that she was being offered an insight beyond this building, Jess was fascinated by Talia and its customs. She supposed the time here was equivalent to around the 16th century in England, although she wasn't sure; history wasn't her strong point.

She had also been on the receiving end of some of Luciano's questions, as he had once lived in England as she did. Surprisingly, Jess didn't know Luciano, nor go to Barnsbury Comp, but her younger cousin Alice - who had given her the fairy as a birthday present - did.

"I'm not sure if I know her, Alice, Alice who?" asked Luciano.

"Alice Greaves. She's friends with Georgia O'Grady, Nicholas Duke, and her boyfriend Sky Meadows. Are you sure you don't know them?" replied Jess.

"Oh yes, I know Georgia, Sky and of course I know Nick. He used to live in this world. They are all in fact Stravagante; even Alice has come to Giglia once."

Jess looked astounded. "Even Alice?! And how could Nick live in this world when he's alive in my world? Does he have to stravagate everyday like I will? But Nick has a shadow!" she protested, questions tumbling out of her. She definitely knew Nick had a shadow, the four of them often came down to Devon where Jess lived and she was certain they all had shadows.

It was Giuditta who answered first. "Yes, Alice has come here before; it was I who brought across her talisman. Hers was a tricky situation though, a one off Stravagation. Alice thought Sky and Georgia were together, so they felt they needed to tell her in order to save their relationship."

"_Sky and Georgia?"_ thought Jess, "_No wonder this is so messy. I always thought Sky was going out with Alice."_

Luciano continued with the explanations, "Nick has translated like I have, so he is dead in this world but alive in yours, that way he still has a shadow. The same way I have a shadow here." Jess noted that he didn't refer to her world as 'ours', choosing to disassociate himself with it. Now things were finally beginning to make sense.

The Duchessa sat quietly through this discussion, preferring not to take part. She was discreetly eyeing the new Stravagante with a disapproving eye, envious at connections she had with Luciano despite not even knowing him. She knew Luciano loved her, but after seeing how close he was to the Georgia girl who had pretended to be a boy, she was suspicious of every new female Stravagante.

Jess had noticed the slight hostility, but couldn't understand it. The Duchessa was the ruler of a city; she could have everything she wanted, while Jess was just a mere sculptor's apprentice. She wondered what was going though the Duchessa's mind, observing the bags under her eyes, unaware that the Duchessa's silence was through jealousy.


	4. The First Cut

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

The First Cut

Jess sat laughing at the table with Giuditta. Despite being older by many years, she was a great listener and could always take her mind off things. Jess had brought out the drawings of Luciano she had conjured up to show Giuditta. She had been doing them secretly while being assigned tasks to test her skills. It had taken a little while to adapt to the different tools, but after a while, Jess had a whole assortment of animals and figurines she had made herself. Giuditta had proudly put them on display to prove that Jess was actually her apprentice and not someone who had come from another world. Jess would have loved to take them home to show her mum but she knew that would breach the laws of Stravagating.

Giuditta was concerned by the looming deadline of her statue, if she didn't complete it soon then there would be penalties to pay. Also, Luciano couldn't keep coming here for much longer otherwise the di Chimici would get suspicious as to how she had managed to carve such a good likeness when the subject was banned from the city. She turned back to the drawings she held in her hands, admiring the girl's handiwork, surprised by how good she was. The drawings were scaled and accurate; she had even included the tiny details like the crease on his collar and the hem on his robe. There could be a way to make this work.

The Bellezzan Ducal Carriage trundled down the Piazza Ducale, the curtains closed so nobody could see the Cavaliere hiding behind them. Despite being good friends with Prince Gaetano di Chimici, his involvement with Falco and the Grand Duke's death had caused unfortunate consequences in this case. Being forbidden from the city was not the most convenient thing, especially when he needed to protect Arianna in a hostile city.

Despite the fact that they were more likely to cause suspicion to the Grand Duke, they had decided to use the disguises they had used when many of the Stravaganti had gathered in Giglia before. Luciano was wearing the friar's robe and Jess was dressed in Giuditta's niece's clothes that Alice had worn. She felt slightly more comfortable knowing her cousin had worn these clothes before her. She was mentally going through the script written in her mind; she had arrived from Bellezza with the Duchessa, bringing sketches of Cavaliere Luciano. She had heard Giuditta was the best sculptor around here and wanted the chance to be her apprentice. She couldn't be too careful about staying out of the shadows – the Grand Duke was known for turning up at Giuditta's studio to gaze at the Duchessa. They said he still hadn't gotten over her rejection.

Jess would have loved to actually have gone to Bellezza; it seemed so beautiful and magical. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be possible to make the trip in the short time she had before Stravagating. Luciano had told her more than she ever could want to know to make up for her not being able to visit. He described the maze of narrow streets, the bridges over the waterways, the Marriage with the Sea, and even the island of Torrone where Arianna had grown up. Jess felt a stab as he described _her_. She had felt like she had developed a connection with this beautiful boy in the last few days of meeting him and visions in the statue. It hurt when she remembered Arianna was much closer to him than she ever could be.

Giuditta handed the chisel to Jess who took it with tentative hands. She hesitated as she held up the rather large chisel to the rough marble. The Duchessa's cold eyes looked over her threatening her if she dared make her lover anything but perfect. She took a deep breath to prepare herself and gather the image of Luciano in her mind. The Duchessa's eyes still hadn't left the back of her head; Jess had begun to get irritated. She knew it was pointless to get angry at a marble figurine, but it didn't seem fair to her that the Duchessa could have everything she wanted, including Luciano, and not seem content.

Drawing her focus away from her pessimistic thoughts, Jess stepped forward and made the first cut.


	5. Royal Decisions

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

Royal Decisions

Jess frowned and tilted her head at an angle to see if that would help in any way. It didn't. She couldn't work out how to carve his eyes, they didn't actually have bumps in them where the pupil was supposed to be, but then how was she supposed to capture a likeness of his beautiful eyes? She sighed, wondering if she dared step into Arianna's place to see if it would help. She knew they were far behind in technology here but it seemed as if the Duchessa had planted microscopic cameras in her crystal eyes just to torment Jess.

"Jess?"

Jess turned around to Giuditta's voice, not expecting the Duchessa to be accompanying her.

"Yes?" she replied cautiously, glaring the Duchessa, to see what was so important that she had disturbed Giuditta and herself. Giuditta never disturbed Jess other than for meals or when it was time to Stravagate back. It was an unspoken understanding between fellow sculptors and they both respected it well.

It was Arianna that spoke first. "I am returning to Bellezza."

Jess was sorely tempted to reply with a _"So?" _but she didn't think that was an appropriate reply to a monarch. "When will you leave, Your Grace?" she asked instead.

"Jess," Giuditta started, "I don't think you understand. You have to leave too."

Jess frowned in confusion. "What does it have to do with me?" She asked Giuditta, pointedly not looking at Arianna.

"Well, as you are supposedly from Bellezza it would only make sense that you would return with the Duchessa." Giuditta explained as gently as possible. It wasn't fair on the girl to have to spend less time here thanks to Bellezzan customs.

"Oh." At first Jess looked downhearted but then she remembered the holidays that were coming up. She had spent so much time in Bellezza she had forgotten to pay attention her own time. "Well that's okay. I might be going on holiday anyway in a few days so that would coincide well."

Giuditta decided to continue now that she saw Jess was taking it quite well. "It may mean you can't come back to Giglia for a while, until Arianna can come back."

Jess stared open mouthed at Giuditta before moving on to glare at Arianna. "Me coming here has nothing to do with Arianna. I can just say I came back on my own."

Giuditta hesitated before continuing, unsure that Jess had understood the full implications of Arianna's decision to move. "Jess, you won't be able to come here unless Arianna is here. No one from Bellezza is allowed. It is what the Duke has declared."

The sculptor watched as the young girl's face fell as she tried to find a way out of the statement Giuditta had given her. "But, but- why?" protested Jess.

"It may be because of me," Luciano stated appearing from the shadows in a hooded cloak. He looked at Arianna before continuing, "The Duke has grown suspicious that I might be hiding secretly in the city so he has declared that no Bellezzan is allowed in the city without Arianna present, and she has to return to Bellezza for the Marriage with the Sea, you know I told you about it?" Arianna shot Luciano a death glare, how dare this girl hear anything about Arianna's life, from Luciano no less!

Jess saw Arianna's glare and interpreted it with glee that she had a connection with Luciano that the Duchessa disagreed with. It would serve that high, stuck-up, spoilt princess right. She wasn't from Luciano's original world, and Jess was. Therefore, technically, Jess would relate to this beautiful boy better, she just wished that he could come back to their world and never meet Arianna again. Unfortunately, Jess didn't have a choice in the matter, and might not ever get to see Luciano again, all thanks to royal decisions.

**AN: Apologies for the late chapter, I was writing a different fic (Pretty, Popular and Partnered if you want to check it out) and had exams. As this was my first fic, I didn't plan it out, so this is going to be the penultimate chapter, and the next one probably won't be very long. If you are still reading this, then thank you very much and I really appreciate it. **


	6. Her Last Time

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

Her Last Time

"Jess! Jess! Wake up now, we have to catch the plane!" shouted Jess's mum from downstairs.

At the word _plane_, Jess jumped awake full of regret that she would never see Luciano again. She had spent the last of her days with him exploring Giglia for the last time. Luciano had tried to make it easier for her by not talking about Bellezza and Arianna, but Jess still felt the loss of the town she never was allowed to visit. Instead, he had listed all the things he missed about their world until Jess made him stop as she could tell he was missing his former home terribly.

When Jess wasn't with Luciano, she was at the workshop completing the statue; she knew it was one of the things she owed Giuditta in return for all she had done, and she wanted to finish her project. She knew there was the slight possibility she would be able to return to Talia if Arianna returned, but she'd rather not come at all than spend time with the high and mighty Duchessa.

Consequently the first week of Jess's holidays passed quickly, and Jess slept late into the day while her parents were at work. Her clothes had been packed mainly by her mother who was disappointed that despite being at home all week Jess had achieved nothing. Jess so badly wanted to show her mother where all her efforts had been going but she knew it was against the laws of the Stravaganti, nor did she have the energy to explain it all to her mum.

"Come on Jess!" called her mother again.

Jess checked the clock: 04:45; they were due to leave in fifteen minutes. She stumbled in and out of the shower in record time, quicker than she did in the few moments she had before school. Once more awake she scanned her room expecting to have to pack her suitcase, but then remembered her mum had done it when she saw it closed with a rucksack and a set of neatly folded clothes on top of it. Jess felt a strong surge of appreciation for her mother. Finding time to pack enough clothes for two weeks for her barely cooperating daughter in her busy lifestyle cannot have been easy. Jess sped up and ran down the stairs saying, "I'm coming Mum, thanks for everything."

Four hours later, Jess was comfortably sat waiting for the plane to take off. The journey to Heathrow airport was not without interruption, her younger brother Jack couldn't go five minutes without asking, "Are we there yet?" or needing to go to the toilet. He didn't really need to go but he was still desperate for attention from his parents. The older two, Jess and Jennifer, had learnt to give up and just make the most of this holiday. It wasn't often they all got to spend time together as a family. Their parents had decided to take a holiday before the kids grew up too much. Jack was only eight, but Jennifer was thirteen and Jess seventeen.

It was still raining as Jess peered out of the small cabin window, much different to the strong Talian sunshine she had been used to. She was excited about seeing London from a bird's eye view, but she couldn't help but compare it to Giglia. Jennifer had settled with a magazine while Jack fidgeted, impatient for the interactive service to work. Soon after the plane took off Jess's eyes slipped shut as she fell into a well needed sleep.

λ

"It is an excellent statue, why, I would love to have a figurine like this sculpted for me. You are spoilt rotten; you now have two statues of you by Giuditta. Maybe I can ask her to do one in my memory. Luciano looks simply divine doesn't he my dear?" Silvia Bellini asked her younger self who was inspecting the royal sculpture with her.

"It is satisfactory I suppose" answered her daughter looking sullenly at the almost invisible stitches in her gown. Instead of returning with the ducal procession, Luciano had been determined to stay with _her_ for a few days longer, even at the risk of a death warrant. None of Arianna's pleading had convinced him to return with her. The Duchessa had not yet told her mother about the appearance of another young Stravaganti, mainly because she didn't like talking about Jess and also because she knew Rodolfo would tell her after he had spoken to Giuditta.

"What's the matter Arianna? You're not normally like this about Giuditta's work," scolded the previous Duchessa.

"That's because it's not Giuditta's work," she replied grumpily. To her, Luciano was open and inviting; she often wished she could take her figurine's place and step into his warm embrace. The only problem was he wasn't her Luciano; he was Jess's.

She got up angrily and stormed out of the glass room taking one look at the marble before her mother could see the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Silvia watched her daughter leave the room wondering who was involved in the making of this statue that had upset her daughter so much. She went in search of Rodolfo with only one thing on her mind: what had happened in Giglia?

Arianna had regained her composure and furiously pummelled down the tunnel to Rodolfo's room. Hearing noise in the tunnel, he wondered what Silvia could possibly want when he had just spoken to her when he remembered it wasn't her that used the passage any more. He had joked about switching rooms with Luciano as Arianna now occupied her mother's rooms but that plan hasn't followed through.

"Rodolfo," she cried as soon as the door to the secret passage was open. She clambered out as gracefully as her position required her to do and continued with her order. "As your Duchessa I command you to take Jess's talisman back. Tell her she can't Stravagate anymore."

He fixed her with a stern look. "I will do what is best for the brotherhood."

"And that doesn't include girls," muttered Arianna as she returned to her own chambers.

Rodolfo sighed; he knew her outburst was due. Giuditta wasn't a woman of many words but even from her he had discerned that Arianna didn't particularly like this new Stravaganti, so much so she didn't want her coming back to Talia. Well Arianna never liked any of the female Stravaganti; it was something she'd just have to accept, she couldn't be so overprotective of Luciano.

Regretfully, he arranged his mirrors again to communicate with Giuditta once more. Their conversation was a short one: he relayed Arianna's intention and the only Talian female Stravaganti agreed that it would be best that Jess not return to Talia under the current circumstances.

"My last question" started Rodolfo, "Would you like to collect her talisman or shall I?"

Giuditta felt the sorrow even before she uttered the words: "I'll do it."

Λ

From the fine grey streaks in her hair you would assume she was old, but Giuditta was just held down by guilt of her task. Finding the key Jess told her was hidden under the plant pot, she opened the door to a still house. She silently crept up the stairs and into the door marked Jess. Her fairy talisman still lay on her unmade bed she had left in her rush to leave the house.

Giuditta held the object in her left hand examining her own workmanship while her other hand fingered a similar but unfamiliar model that had only been recently made by her apprentice. She could leave it here for Jess to find but Stravaganti were only supposed to be called on in times of emergency and there wasn't one right now. Giuditta wasn't sure whether Jess had come to watch over the Duchessa and the Cavalier of to help her with the carving. Bringing Jess back now could endanger her, she couldn't risk that.

So Jess had finished her stay in Giglia; that was her last time.

**AN: So that's the end, I'm going to do an epilogue but the story has finished. Hope you enjoyed it, please review and tell me what you thought. I might possible continue it, I have a small idea in my head, but I ended it here because I wanted to focus on my other fic, **_**Pretty, Popular and Partnered, **_**and some other one-shots I will be doing so please check out them. Thanks for reading! **


	7. Epilogue

**Fanfiction based on the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman. **

**I don't own anything that belongs to Mary Hoffman.**

The New Apprentice

Epilogue

At first the holiday had been strained but when you are climbing Jacob's Ladder of canoeing you need to work as a team. So a few days into the trip the family opened up and started to talk to each other a bit more. Jess was still mourning over Luciano but at one of the hotel dinner parties they had met the associates of her dad's company who happened to have a son around Jess's age. They talked and exchanged numbers but while he was nothing like the Talian boy, he still would stick about in Jess's life. Her sleeping pattern had also returned to normal; the long activity filled days tired her out so she had a deep dreamless sleep.

So instead of going their separate ways, the family reminisced about the holiday and future plans on the plane journey. They had decided to go out together at least once a month and to plan an annual holiday. They had even decided to meet with the other family they had met and Jess was teased for the rest of the flight. The gentle banter was different to the usual hurried conversations they had, the empty "How was your day?" type questions that never really required an answer. Jess had been drawn so far into her self esteem she hadn't realised what she had been missing: a family.

When they got home that night, Jess only stopped for a quick minute to dump her suitcase before running straight back downstairs where a game of scrabble was produced. It was only when she was about to fall asleep that she realised she was missing something in her hand. Over the past two weeks the unfamiliar feeling of the hotel had masked any feelings of oddness, but now in her own bed something didn't feel right. She knew the fairy was probably in her drawer where she usually kept it, but the niggling feeling in the back of her mind mad her get up and check. Her fingers probed the back of the drawer, but it wasn't there. Defeated she sunk back into bed; she knew there was no way it could be anything else. She wondered if Luciano had come to take it back. It hurt to think he would do something like that to her.

It was the first night she dreamt of Talia: of Arianna's cold telescopic eyes watching over her while she snapped the fairy's wings clean off her back. Behind her stood Luciano, the cavalier he was, with nothing to prove he ever lived in this world.


End file.
